New strategies needed to improve Michigan charter schools, group says WITH VIDEO

By DIANA DILLABER MURRAY

Sunday, April 21, 2013

If parents and legislators want charter schools to give students more choice, something should be done to ensure they are high performing and achievement is at least higher than the low-achieving districts in which they are located, according to the leader of a student advocacy organization.

Amber Arellano, executive director of the Education Trust-Midwest, was commenting on a portion of a report issued by the agency Thursday, which indicates Michigan has shown the lowest growth in student achievement between 2003 through 2011 than any other state.

For years, Michigan has lacked a coherent, research-based agenda and systemic strategy to improve teaching and learning, Arellano said.

One of those strategies that is not working is continuing the operation of charter schools without requiring high performance to receive tax dollars.

In addition, the organization has come up with a road map to improve education overall in Michigan.

Arellano said in an interview that the state should be making investments into schools that are data-driven to better serve students rather than investing in school operators who are putting money into elections and PACs.

"We want to be investing in things that have results," Arellano said.

In reaction to the criticism, Dan Quisenberry, executive director of Michigan Association of Public School Academies -- the state charter school association -- said Education Trust-Midwest is ignoring the Center for Research on Education Outcomes report (CREDO) from Stanford University on the charter schools in Michigan, which he said shows "systematic evidence of progress of charter schools.

"It shows one to four years gained by students," in charter schools, and they are outperforming the districts in which they are located, he maintained, citing the CREDO analysis.

The road map to better schools created by Education Trust, would include having state and local leaders focus on successfully implementing key reforms such as improving teaching quality; investing in, and developing, strong school teachers and leaders; and ensuring all students have access to a rigorous, college- and career-ready curriculum.

The road map also includes holding every public school, district, operator or authorizer accountable; investing in education strategies that work; a commitment to "just-right" school finance that doesn't waste money on failed strategies; and establishing stronger connections between schools, communities and parents.